Oh, I have a blog?!

That whole buying a house and being a grown-up really eliminates free time.  Also, I forgot I had a blog. Anyway, I am alive and pursing yet another big step in life. I am about to begin yoga teacher training.  Generally, one giant task per year sounds doable. Alas, I don't have a money tree.  If you would like to help or just read why I'm taking on this crazy endeavor, check out my GoFundMe page.

GoFundMe

So I bought a house...

2014 is already shaping up to be a great year.  As the title of this post suggests, I bought a house. Or at least, I'm hoping it will be mine! On Good Friday, I went under contract on an adorable house and I am praying the inspection goes well. It's semi-surreal that this gypsy is clipping her wings (sorry for the mixed metaphors) and settling down. Never in a million years did I think I would be buying a house as a single twenty something in a sleepy town in south Florida.  Good thing I'm not running the show! I am so thankful for the twists and turns in my life and can't wait to start this new adventure!

I've decided to document the process of making this house my home.  I want my family and friends who don't live here to see the progress on my little fixer upper and I want to be able to look back on what I have accomplished.

The best part about all of this? I still don't feel like a grown-up.  In the past week my age has been guessed at 23 and 24 by people who know me pretty well (except not my age!) Guess I'm not all "grow'd" up yet and that's just the way I like it!

Even numbered years tend to be superior.

We are just days away from 2014 and I am fairly confident that it's going to be a lot better than 2013. I'm not overly superstitious, but my family has a thing for multiples of seven. Us "kids" even have birthdays on the 7th, 14th, and 21st. It makes me excited to see what this year has in store.

I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish and truly believe that when you write your goals down, you are much more likely to succeed.  I read this article by Mackenzie Newcomb and have stolen a few (denoted by a star) in addition to some of my own.

1.   Pursue some sort of Health or Wellness certification.
2.   Successfully complete a food challenge. (Probably this one.)
3. *Leave the country. (I might scale this down and just do a trip to somewhere I have been dying to go in the US.)
4. *Cross something off your bucket list. (Working on #31! February 16th A1A Half)
5.  Meal Prep Sunday - wash, chop, and cook as much as I can for the week for real meals.
6. *Stop beating yourself up for skipping the gym on days you truly didn't have time. But also, stop skipping the gym on days you had plenty of time to go.
7.  Stick to a budget.
8. *Stop caring about how many people "like" your Instagram photos...social media anxiety is a waste of time.
9.  Make more regular visits to the Farmer's Market.
10.*If you think somebody is cute, say "hi" and introduce yourself.

I'm also working on a few other things, but I'm going to keep them just for me.

AHHHHHHHH

While I know that may not be the most creative blog post title, it's the only thing running through my head right now. This little email just popped in my inbox.

And yes, that does say 6:00am start time.

If you know me, you know I'm not a runner.  I'm fit, I'm active, but I'm not a runner.  I have been training since October and I will be up to six miles this weekend, but it is NOT easy for me.  Swim six miles? Ok. Run them? Ugh. Anyway, if you have seen my Bucket List then you can see that it's on there so I decided to just do it for my 28th birthday. I'm not getting any younger and my birthday is the weekend before.

I'm hoping that I will get some other people to do it with me or at least come watch, but if not, I'm pretty used to doing things on my own. Now let's just hope I can actually do this!

Gratefulness

Today's Elf for Health challenge has us listing 20 things for which we are grateful. I must admit that I am not feeling the most thankful or grateful these days and coming up with this list was rather difficult.

1. the #elf4health challenges - they have gotten me to focus on the good, the bad, and the ugly

2. friends - we had our gift exchange last night and I laughed so hard

3. giving gifts - (my love language) I love making and giving gifts to other people

4. glitter - it just makes things happy and is currently all over my floor

5. my students

6. hallmark christmas movies - all day every day :)

7. my best friend - I can call her crying and she's always there to listen

8. family

9. almond milk lattes made at home

10. days where I can sit on my couch and drink #9 in the morning without rushing

11. manicures - I can feel my ugliest, but pretty nails make me feel just a little bit prettier

12. the blogosphere

13. the ability to cook

14. the resources to travel

15. ACE

16. my faith - I may not be the "best" Catholic, but it keeps me going every day

17. new beginnings

18. photography

19. working out - even though I am sorely lacking any sort of motivation currently

20. smiles

Whole 30 - Day 3

Whomp whomp...I made it a whole 2.75 days. So maybe Christmas really isn't the time to be doing this.  By the end of yesterday, I was so cranky and had the worst headache.  It's partially my fault for not packing dinner when I knew I would be at school until almost 8pm, but the headache and cravings were intense.

After a verbal altercation with the cashier at Target, I came home and face planted into some chocolate chips. Couldn't help myself. Plus, all I could think about was how much I missed my morning almond milk latte with three stevia.

Things I liked - it got me to sit down and eat a filling, healthy breakfast. I will keep this going. Also, I did cut waaaay back on sugar and I've only had two small bites of grains. I hope to keep this up for as long as possible. It also made me look even more closely at food labels and I am SHOCKED by what I found. Did you know there is added sugar in some brands of table salt?! Publix brand, I'm looking at you. I will be much more aware of the things I am buying and splurge for organic or "fancy" items more frequently.

So moral of the story...this program can work and I will try it again, but just not during one of the craziest months of the year. And most importantly, I just want to get to a point where I don't think about every single thing I ate or will be eating. It's exhausting!

In other news, it's make-up free Wednesday! Those extra 10 minutes were so very welcome this morning. Let's see what the students think. If I could get $5 for every time one of them comments that I look tired I would have a lot of dollars at the end of the day :)

Whole30 - Day 2

Day 2 was a little bit harder. Ok, a lot harder. Here are the eats and how I felt.

Meal 1 (6:15am) - Egg scramble with sweet potatoes, spinach, yellow peppers and avocado and coconut oil, coffee with coconut milk. Realized my new salt contains dextrose so I used Kosher salt and WOW did I overdo it.

I felt super full after this meal and was craving my almond milk latte. 

Meal 2 (12:20pm) - 2 small salmon cakes, green beans and avocado with a very small apple

This was not enough food at all. While I was really full after lunch, I was hungry once school was over. Going to have to tweak  the whole lunch thing. 

Meal 3 (4:00-5:00pm) - umm...a hard-boiled egg, lots of dates and cashews, a Larabar, 2 salmon cakes with avocado.

Not super proud of this afternoon. I was stressed and used to coming home and snacking on junk. After eating all of this I definitely felt like crap.  While it was all "approved" food, they weren't meals and I didn't sit to eat any of it.  I had a bit of a rough day and I really wanted to dive into the chocolate chips and bagels plus I have quite the headache, but that could be from all sorts of things. Overall though, I mostly did things right. 

Now it's off to do laundry and prep some food for the rest of this crazy week!

Elf For Health - Week 2

Clearly I am a glutton for punishment. Instead of lesson planning and grading during this free period, I am doing this. I can't help it, my Week 2 email came in and I'm all excited for the daily challenges! My elf buddy, Melissa, and I have been emailing regularly which makes it so much more fun.  While I know that I "waste" a lot of time on the Internet, I don't care because I get to do so much and "meet" so many people because of it! 

So Week 2 looks like this:

Monday - send a handwritten note.  Already working on it, kids.

Tuesday - Eat the rainbow! Since I am doing the Whole30 I don't think this will be a problem.

Wednesday - Go makeup free today! Little hesitant about this one, but I'm going for it. I apologize in advance ;)

Thursday - Workout with a buddy! I'm planning a yoga meet-up for my Healthy Living club. Hopefully some of them show up to do yoga with me. 

Friday - Leave an Operation Beautiful note. Again, I am going to recruit my Healthy Living girls to help me write some to leave around school.

Saturday - Clean out your fridge and pantry. I sort of did this last Saturday, but will do it again.  In addition, I am going to clean out all of my bedroom drawers and closet. I want to purge clothes!

Sunday - Make a list of 20 things you are grateful for.  I'm pretty excited about this one. 

Whole30 - Day 1

I'm typing this to try to distract myself from the fact that I want to eat crap. I'm procrastinating doing any sort of school work or the laundry. Typically when I do this I snack on all the things. Unfortunately, it was usually sugar-laden. Did you know that sugar is in everything?!? Seriously, I was reading labels to see if things were Whole 30 approved and eliminated so many things based on the sugar alone.

So my Day 1 consisted of a hard-boiled egg before 4 mile run/walk (dang Bar method sore legs!) and 50 burpees. I came home and ate this breakfast scramble and an Americano with coconut milk.

I went in to work and then ate some of the pumpkin chicken curry I made yesterday with green beans. I probably should have eaten more because I then snacked on some cashews, dates, and green olives. The curry was ok. I am definitely going to have to work on making more flavorful food if I am to feel satisfied. I think I'm going to eat a Larabar and some mint tea and call it a day.

Now I just need to be a little productive and do 50 more burpees for Elf For Health then I can go to sleep early! Two weeks of solid teaching are ahead and I need to be on my A-game.

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving 2013 was a whirlwind trip. I drove to Orlando the Friday before to meet my friend Tara while she was attending a conference and stay with her before flying out the next morning.  (She's the greatest friend a girl could have.)

On Saturday I flew to St. Louis and was picked up by a friend and after we had lunch I met up with my mom and cousin to do some shopping damage.  After a few great days at home catching up on sleep, having mommy days, and generally just relaxing, we road tripped it to Bowling Green.  This was the part I have been looking forward to for weeks even though I was sad to leave my home. Our family isn't big, but we are very close.  My great-aunt and uncle are basically my grandparents. I've talked about them here and they are still just as cute as ever!

The night before Thanksgiving we all just hung out at their house catching up and dreaming of the next day's feast.  On Thanksgiving, my mom and I got up early and went for a 3.5 mile run in frigid temperatures! Food is incredibly motivating for the both of us.

Breakfast of champions - Skinny latte and holiday Flips!

While we all stood standing around about to eat our arms off before lunch at one, the paparazzi wouldn't leave us alone. Sadly all of those pictures are on her (the momma jane's) phone. Here is one of the children of two of the grandchildren. Three on the left belong to Sara Jane. Two on the right belong to David and Ann Wade belongs to Briggs (the older of the two). Confusing? Sorry!

Briggs, Aaron, Seth, Ann Wade + Briggs, Nathan 

Here is the cutest man on the face of the planet. My Uncle Bill is just the sweetest thing.

After a few more pictures and the funniest grace ever, we feasted. So. Much. Food. And the desserts aren't even on the bar!

I have no recollection of my family drinking at family functions. Mainly because we have a few who ruined it for all of us so you can imagine the surprise when my cousin Alice and I stumbled upon this...

Holy liquor cabinet! We were just looking for a corkscrew. We sort of decided that wine needed to happen. Some of that liquor is older than I am!

Anyway, I am so extremely grateful for my family and wish we all lived closer together. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday!

Well this is discouraging...

So after a great Thanksgiving, I decided to just go for it. I'm starting the Whole30 tomorrow. I returned to an empty fridge and thought, "why not?"  But then, after spending the last four hours shopping and prepping, I logged on to the Whole9 website and saw this. 

Seriously?!? It talks about how the holidays just might not be the best time and while I understand the rationale, I don't really think it applies to me. I'm not really good with others thinking they know better than me anyway. So I'm just going to ignore their advice and give it a go even though I am sooooo nervous!

Today I did some serious shopping at Fresh Market and Sam's and will need to hit Publix tomorrow.  I then spent the evening watching some Notre Dame football and cooking up a storm. I made Spicy Pumpkin Chicken Curry, Salmon Patties, and prepped some stuff for breakfast.  I'll do another good batch of cooking in the morning before going in to work at the Outlets.

I'll give a little Elf For Health update and Thanksgiving recap soon! Wish me luck :)

I like to keep TSA on their toes.

I'm a city girl who just happened to grow up in a small town and who currently lives in a different small town. My favorite days growing up were when my mom and I would plan to go to St. Louis to get our big city fix.  We would shop all day, eat lunch and  have the greatest time. I remember planning out what I would wear for those excursions for weeks before the actual day.

Now that I am a grown-up (ha!), I have chosen to live in a small town again for a few years, but I miss the city every day. I especially miss my super healthy, everything at your fingertips, weird-loving Austin. While I now live at the beach and have different opportunities, what I miss most is access to affordable, healthy food options. As I get ready to embark on the Whole 30 Challenge, I think this is going to be my biggest challenge. Of course Fresh Market has most of what I need, but at twice the price I am used to paying. Will I suck it up and pay it? Yes. Will I like it? This frugal foodie says, "heck to the no!"

Since I am such a frugal (tight-wad), you better believe I make the most of Southwest's free bag policy.  The past few times I have been home I have brought an extra bag that I fill with goodies from Trader Joe's.  My mom and I stop their either the day I land or the day I fly back.  This time I stocked up on things I will be using on the Challenge. Look at all the goodies!

Coconut oil, ghee, nuts, dried (no sugar-added) raspberries, the BEST mint tea, some spices, and Cashew cookie Lara bars.  And the fact that they are Whole30 approved isn't even the best part. My mom treated me to all of it!!! She's the greatest. Full disclosure - I also bought some non approved items to use in the meantime. Now if only I could pack the perishable stuff. I'm pretty sure the TSA security guys have some interesting reactions when my bags get inspected.

Elf for Health

I am so excited to be participating in Nutritionella's Elf for Health Challenge! Tonight I received my Elf assignment and I can't wait to start exchanging emails.

The premise of this challenge is so great.

1. It's going to give me little goals and tasks to accomplish everyday and the best part is they are all attainable.

2. I get to interact with like-minded people, name my Elf Buddies Melissa and ???, especially during this crazy, not so health-focused season. (Melissa, get ready for some emails with an excessive number of exclamation marks.) 

3. There are prizes!!!

4. I'm going to challenge my girls in Healthy Living Club to do some of the tasks with me.

5. It's helping me get back to blogging.

Clearly, you can see this is a win-win-win situation! 

Breaking the silence

The day after Christmas I am embarking on the Whole30 Challenge. And I hope to document it here! Until then I will blog about all the prep work, mentally and physically, that I am doing.  It most definitely includes a lot pinning :)

Tired Tears

Or alternately titled, "When did 9 o'clock get so late?"

Yesterday I had a full blown toddler meltdown. Except I was the toddler. I have spread myself too thin and I am way too overcommitted. It's my fault.

At about 8:30 last night as I was tearing up because I couldn't focus, I learned a valuable lesson instead of diving headfirst into the box of Cinnamon Chex cereal I was eating. Just go to bed. Even if 9pm sounds early, to my body it seemed so late.

I struggle with eating my feelings as I call it. When I'm stressed or overwhelmed or tired or sad, I'll eat. And that doesn't make me feel any better. Then I'm that feeling AND stuffed AND guilty because I overate again. It's a terrible, vicious cycle.  Last night, actually listening to my body felt good. It helped me make a good decision for myself.

I even got to practice that lesson this morning. My alarm went off at 5am to do my workout and I just was not ready. I knew it would make my long day longer and that I (and my students) would suffer because of it. So I slept and then took my time getting ready this morning and came to school earlier. I'll make up my workouts this weekend when I am more rested and I'm pretty sure my body won't mind. Sometimes your mental health trumps your physical health.

Here's hoping there are no more tired tears tonight!

Fitmixer Assignment 1

These bootcamp kids haven't cut any corners with the online format of their program. I'm already sad thinking it's going to end. In seven weeks. We were given and assignment on Friday to write a love letter to ourselves in order to change our thoughts and discover who we truly are. This might be the most personal thing I have ever posted on here, so bear with me.

Dear Self,

Guess what - it's ok to be proud of the person you are right this minute. Not who you want to be tomorrow, but who you are today. These are the things I love about you (in no particular order):

-You are making this a nice, orderly list because you love things orderly and organized.

-You have created this blog.
-You are a fiercely loyal friend.
-You love God and your family.
-You have endured a lot of struggles and come out smiling.
-You haven't compromised.
-You got your Master's at 24.
-You took the difficult path after college because you wanted to serve even when others told you it was crazy.
-You love your students and all those around you.
-You constantly seek to better yourself - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
-You love to read.
-You're a pretty darn good cook.
-You sometimes consider yourself pretty. (Start doing that more!)
-You have learned to accept a compliment.
-You try to always find the good in the world.
-You won't settle.
-You love to love.
-You're quite handy.
-You have personal style.
-You're part fish.
-You love to move - your body and your address.
-You have identified your flaws, but are learning to not dwell on them.
-You are independent.
-You are learning to be kind to your body.
-You have seen a good chunk of the world and yet...
-You want to see so much more of it.

I'm sure there are many many more things I will want to add to this love letter later, but for now that's it. Tomorrow I will get to be proud of the person I am then.

Love,
a

It's Independence Day...

in Mexico. And you thought that's what Cinco de mayo was all about. Sorry to burst your bubble. Sadly, I don't feel like celebrating much. Stomach ache, headache, behind in the to do list, and super tired. Not sure if I have the same bug some of my students had last week or my body is still revolting from Chipotle yesterday. After a week of eating super clean and healthy even Chipotle rocked its world. 

Totally worth it.

Tomorrow marks my the beginning of the second week of Bootcamp and I'm still loving it! I'm such a nerd about all things health related and I have finally found something that works for me, for now. I'm fueling my body for function not emotion. And let me tell you, working out at home is so much easier than hauling my stuff to the gym. Don't get me wrong, I still miss and love my fancy gym, but since leaving Austin I haven't really had one of those :(

I seriously can't believe September is half over. This week is another crazy one with the kickoff of my online teaching career, an away swim meet, a bake sale, the multicultural club kickoff and about a million other things! Good thing I love my job. Those babies make it all worth it. Yes, I call my high school students babies. Oops.

Now I'm going to go celebrate Mexican Independance by....wait for it....grading Spanish tests. Wooo!!!!Partyyyyyy!

Fitmixer

So I've epically (that's not a word?) failed at many things blog wise lately. I was called out for my lack of What I Wear Wednesdays. I only made it three weeks with my Grateful For... list and generally haven't been posting much. Well, I'm sorry. School and coaching and projects and life have gotten in the way. However, what I am here to tell you is that I started something today that I intend on finishing. The awesome team over at fitmixer.com have this amazing online bootcamp program. They provide nutrition plans (from a dietitian), weekly webcasts, weigh-ins, workouts, and most importantly an incredible support system through facebook and email. Many of you know I have struggled with food and weight issues for a long time and I am excited to see where this goes. I'll be blogging about it periodically, but just know that my lack of other posts is only temporary until my life slows down a bit.

Today we did a fit test and here were the results:

(Other than those listed with time were completed in one minute.)

burpees 15
superman 28
plyolunges 15/15
tri pushup 16
hover 1:16
chest push up 6 regular, 15 knees
wall sit 1:20
high knees 46
jumping jacks 66
side hovers 14/14

Blue Moon

Warning: This post is a little sad, but I left out most of the specifics of the day for the squeamish. 

Once in a blue moon whales beach themselves for inexplicable reasons. Far less frequently do girls from Missouri get to help assist in the rescue process. Today during a delicious brunch at Captain's Galley, some friends and I found out about a pod of beached pilot whales nearby. Thank goodness for friends in the know. We hopped in the new (still-unnamed) car and went to go see if we could help.

There were so many people and so many whales! It was a little chaotic and we weren't sure of what to do so we grabbed some buckets and began filling them with water. In total, there were 22 whales and each had a team of about four or five people attending to them. At least one person sat up against the whale to keep it propped up and the rest worked to keep it cool. I ran into a friend who volunteers at Harbor Branch and joined their team. 

We worked with a young female whom they had named Margot. I've never seen a whale outside of an aquarium and here I was sitting next to one pouring water from a water bottle over her dorsal fin. The vets came around and instructed us to keep track of her breathing and over the next couple of hours that's all we could do. Margot's breathing became more labored and other whales were dying around us. At some point they sedated her. She began to shake and lift her tail and I felt entirely helpless.

There was a lot going on, people coming and going, but I was lucky they let me stay. It had become quite crowded and the park rangers were trying to control the crowd, the media, and all the volunteers. Eventually, the vets came around and began to euthanize the whales one by one. It was really hard watching them get closer and closer to Margot as they worked their way down the beach. It was even worse when they actually got to our tent. The vets and volunteers were incredible, though. Humane and understanding - they explained everything they were about to do as if she was "our" whale. She kind of was. And even more so to Sarah, Colleen, and Anna from Harbor Branch.

The actual procedure was the hardest part and I'm not going to describe it. Just know that the term "putting to sleep" isn't quite accurate. After that, I couldn't stay around anymore. Sadly, 17 whales died today, but thankfully five were rescued and will hopefully survive. 

Here are a few pictures from today.

Each tent is covering a whale or two.

The farthest south on the beach. They were spread all along.

There are two of the babies in this pool someone brought. They were saved!

Margot (and Sarah)

Another whale came ashore as we were working. Thankfully they were able to save it as well.

Signs

God is totally at work in my life. I keep seeing the signs. You might not believe in signs, but I sure do. I began to "see" it as I read #SheReadsTruth Day 3 Proverbs 3:5-12. Here is The Message version of these verses...

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

   don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

   he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.

   Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

   your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

   give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

   your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

   don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

   a father's delight is behind all this. 

This message of signs continued during our faculty retreat. Our speak spoke about signs and how the answers are always in the eyes of the beholder. Sooo true!So maybe the signs I have experienced mean nothing to you. That's fine by me, but I'm going share some of them with you anyway.

I've been thinking about going back to school pretty seriously for the past year, but couldn't find the perfect program. On the family roadtrip I found it while randomly reading stuff online! This program was absolutely meant for me and is in a place I will love. While driving in to St. Louis I saw a literal sign for the school. I then remembered a colleague's husband had worked there.  He actually worked in the department I want! Even stranger, a blog I recently started following mentioned it. Oh yeah and then about a million songs pointed me there. And of course, the more I have opened myself up to these signs and guidance, the more I have noticed God at work. 

So back to the verses above... I am still trying to figure out everything on my own at times, but I think God appreciates my efforts of trying to let go. I am working to embrace discipline in my life and allow for correction. Crazy how so many changes can come from a few words written so long ago. 

Do you believe in signs?

a

P.S. If you haven't heard of The Message, go google it. It puts the Bible in today speak for those non-biblical scholars like myself.